Wineblog

by Edo Heyns

I have no idea who this guy is or where he came from, but if he carries on like this, we might hear more of him soon … As seen at the Solms Delta Franschhoek Oesfees. Enjoy!

by Elona Nel

The past weekend’s Riesling Rocks festival once again showcased the fighting spirit and go-getting attitudes of some of South Africa’s producers of this noble cultivar. Conveyed by Carl Schultz and Heleen Rabe of Hartenberg, they hit the nail right on its head, with a good selection of quality Rieslings, gourmet food and lively music.

The Just Riesling Association – brainchild of Klein Constantia’s Lowell Jooste and now headed by Paul Cluver – pioneered this movement by officially differentiating between the real Weisser or Rhine Riesling (now properly known as just Riesling) and the Cape or Paarl Riesling, more commonly known as Crouchen.

Increasingly finding favour with the public, this weekend’s Riesling celebration was well-attended by a variety of wine fundi’s and local Joe’s. According to Carl, they hope and intend to make this an annual event. The producers really came to the party too, with some – like Jordan – even offering mini-vertical tastings.

It was a showcase across the entire style-spectrum, with one of my personal favourites of the day, the Klein Constantia 2009, offering zesty lemon on the nose with green apples, rosemary and a refreshingly clean finish.

The Hartenberg 2003 was a definite treat, with good fruit and a slight honeyed character, finishing rich and creamy, while the Paul Cluver 2010 had ample fruity flavours, lemon nuances, white pepper, minerality and a waxy undertone.

Although a small player volume-wise on the local field, with only 0, 21% of the total wine grape hectares, bigger isn’t always better – so will the real Rieslings please keep standing strong.

by Edo Heyns

Better co-ordination of wine events is not a new point of discussion, but this past weekend again showed that we are still not getting it right. My flight back from Jozi last night reminded me of stopping at De Akker in Stellenbosch after work on a Friday – I kept bumping into winemakers!

Although my visit was private, it coincided with no less than three wine events in Joburg on the same weekend. And to make it worse, this was the same weekend that the Nederburg Auction was held back home in the winelands!

While the Robertson Wine Valley had their Gauteng wine festival at Kloofzicht Lodge at the Cradle of Humankind, the MCC Association poured bubbly in Hydepark and Taste of Joburg was held at Montecasino.

According to the mile high Kulula chats, the different events varied in attendance and success, with the Joburg MCC Festival – even though it was held in a parking lot – seemingly drawing the desired crowd on Saturday.

With particularly stringent and regular roadblocks, it is very unlikely that anyone would attend more than one of these wine events – reducing the potential impact of the individual efforts. In fact, the only party that benefitted from this simultaneous influx of free booze was Kulula.